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Vehicles; speed contests and reckless driving

SB 67, c. 727

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SB 67, c. 727:Vehicles; speed contests and reckless driving. Reinstates law that was sunsetted on December 31, 2006, which provided that when a person is arrested for reckless driving, reckless driving in a parking facility, exhibition of speed or a speed contest the officer may seize and impound the vehicle for 30 days.

The City of Oakland sponsored this bill. The long lsit of supporters included the American Autombile Association, the California Police Chiefs Association, and the League of California Cities.

Numerous cities throughout California are experiencing problems related to "sideshows." Sideshows are a spontaneous gathering of people and vehicles which disturb the public and endanger the participants and often innocent bystanders. Sideshows typically occur in vacant parking facilities or on public streets and include exhibitions of speed, spinning donuts, and other acts of reckless driving. Along with the vehicle related problems, sideshows can draw large crowds where other crimes often occur including: public intoxication, drug use, fights, littering, vandalism, and defacement of property.

Over the last 5 years, sideshows have grown in popularity and spread throughout California. The advent of YouTube and other Internet video Web sites, as well as the popularization of these activities through music, have resulted in increased sideshow activity in suburban and rural parts of the state.

SB 67 is a follow-up measure to SB 1489 (Perata), which was signed into law in 2002. SB 1489 sunsetted on January 1, 2007. This bill proposes to reestablish the provisions of SB 1489, without a sunset date. "SB 1489 served as a valuable tool for law enforcement in combating the problems of, and associated with, sideshows. After the passage of SB 1489 the City of Oakland saw a dramatic reduction in the amount of sideshow activity. The impoundment provisions have served as a powerful deterrent to combat the problems of sideshows in Oakland.

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